The social drinker

We talk a lot about gin these days, but spend much less time thinking about tonic, despite the reality that tonic often has a greater effect on the taste of a gin and tonic than the gin.

For years, the tonic market was completely dominated by Schweppes — the quinine-based Indian Tonic Water launched back in 1870.

Schweppes was inspired by British army officers of the Raj, who mixed medicinal quinine with sugar, water and gin to create a drink that both tasted good and protected against malaria. A good tonic water has an underlying bitterness that makes it the perfect foil for sweet drinks such as gin or vermouth; stimulating the taste buds without any overpowering sweetness.

Until recently, Schweppes pretty much had the market to itself. But the last few years have seen the emergence of Fever Tree, which has positioned itself as a premium tonic, and even listed on the London stock exchange. Success breeds success and Fever Tree has been followed by many other artisan tonics that make a big deal about their natural ingredients.

Personally, I still prefer Schweppes — both in my gin and in other favourites such as white port tonic.

A particularly fine Schweppes is the company’s newish 1783 range of premium tonics, which do not use artificial sweeteners, but even the ordinary Schweppes is better than the new pretenders to the tonic crown.

Schweppes seems to have a better kind of bubble — small, tight bubbles give the best fizz.

This may sound a little extreme, but the next time you are making gin and tonic, try expermenting with different tonics and the same gin. You will be surprised what a difference the tonic makes.